(Don't) give me up for gone
by evelyne162
Summary: "Werewolves and other Dark Creatures are a threat to the wizarding community and the Ministry of Magic, everyone knows that! Therefore, a strict regulation of their members, as well as their activities (tracking devices and other ways to defend wizards and witches), are an absolute necessity (...)" -Decree on the Regulation of Werewolves and other dangerous Dark Creatures N 13
1. A meeting in the dark

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters in this story, they belong to J.K. Rowling. This story is an AU based on the story of** _ **cellorocksmyworld.**_ **The tittle of her story is "Give me up for gone" and it is amazing! Perhaps it would be better if you go check out her story first!**

 **AN: Enjoy your reading!**

A meeting in the dark

It was dark, it was cold and it was raining. The two men in the alley huddled closer to each other in a vain attempt to stay warm. They were waiting.

"He's not coming," said the first, it was Ministry Auror Sirius Black. He blew into his hands for warmth. It was autumn and the weather in Bucharest was cold and wet.

"Dumbledore said he would" answered his colleague and best friend, James Potter.

As if on cue, a dark figure appeared at the end of the alley. It was their contact. He approached them carefully, looking nervously in every direction. James elbowed Sirius; who had been studying the other end of the alley and complaining about wet socks; in his stomach. "There he is!"

"Are you Moony?" he asked the stranger when he was close enough. James could see now that the man was very young, a boy really. He had sandy blond hair and a week old beard. He was dressed in Muggle clothes; dark trousers and a grey sweater with a jacket; although all his clothes were clearly old and worn, they did a better job at making him look inconspicuous in the muggle world, unlike James and Sirius who were clad in their wizarding robes. The only sign that he was a wizard was his half-raised wand.

"Who asks?" was his answer.

"Auror Sirius Black and James Potter" answered James, showing his badge "we need to talk to you"

The boy took a step back when James mentioned their job. "I have nothing to say" he answered, and was already turning around to leave, when Sirius, not in the mood for theatrics, stopped him, "Dumbledore said you would be able to help us."

"Dumbledore says and wants a lot of things; he didn't tell me you would be Aurors though, must have slipped his mind?" Moony's tone was sarcastic.

"Look mate, we don't want trouble, we are looking for someone, Fenrir Greyback" James answered.

He took out a beige ministry file with the words 'TOP SECRET' written in bold red letters on it like it wasn't top secret at all from one of the pockets of his robes. He looked through it for a few seconds before grabbing a map and a picture of a snarling and mad-looking man which he handed over to Moony, "Maybe you've heard about him?"

"Yes, I have" he said in a neutral tone, without looking at the picture, "What about him?"

"We got a tip that he's hiding in the mountains, here somewhere" Sirius pointed at the place on the map, "He and his pack are creating havoc, gathering followers... We want to arrest them" explained Sirius "And we need to get up there but Dumbledore told us it was impossible without a guide"

The mountains were indeed difficult to access; a lot of Dark Creatures had taken refuge there after the War with Voldemort to escape retribution and later persecution. They had put up strong wards that overlapped and interacted with each other, with sometimes strange consequences. People that had gotten lost there popped up months or years later with no idea of where they were or what had happened. In fact, only those that already knew where to find the hidden villages were able to go there...

"So, can you find this place?" James asked.

"The place is not difficult to find"

"But will you take us?" Sirius asked.

There was a long pause before Moony finally answered, "Yes, I will"

Both Sirius and James let out a sigh of relief and grinned at each other. "Great! When do we leave?"

"But I have some conditions" interrupted Moony.

"Oh" James' smile fell; when people he worked with asked for conditions, it was more often than not illegal, usually some free pass out of prison or some dark magical artefact the Ministry had confiscated.

"You only arrest Greyback, you leave the rest of the pack alone"

"What?" Sirius exclaimed, "But they're werewolves! Such a big pack is a threat!"

"They're desperate; once you take Greyback away, they'll disperse again" he answered, his composure was tense, but he had a determined look on his face. "Either we do this my way or you can find yourself another guide"

Sirius was about to argue, but James put a hand on his shoulder, "Fine, we will only go after Greyback"

"Good, we leave in a week"

"Why not leave now? You can Apparate us there and we'll be back home for breakfast" Sirius countered again.

He thought the hunt for Greyback had lasted long enough. First, they had had to localise him; which had taken weeks, a lot of questions, some threats of broken bones, some actual broken bones and foremost, money in the right hands; and then they had had to find a guide to take them somewhere guides never went: deep into the mountains. Fortunately, Dumbledore knew someone and had made taken contact in their stead; unfortunately, Moony was very suspicious of strangers and had rescheduled their meeting thrice before finally showing up. All with all, Sirius was fed up with the waiting; it was time for some action and he could not wait to confront Greyback.

Moony laughed -and that was a first!- at Sirius' words, but like the rest of him, it was hard and with a cutting edge. "You're Aurors, are you? I thought they picked you cleverer than that" he said in a mocking voice, "You can't Apparate there, the closest apparation point is at a three-day walking distance"

"But still, why not leave now?" asked James

"You need to make provisions, magic has a strange way of working up there, sometimes it's strong and explosive and other times it's weak. You'll need to prepare yourself, food, tents, muggle camping gear..." At their confused look, he added: "I'll send you a list". He glanced up at the dark sky. Hidden behind the clouds the moonlight was barely visible, "Furthermore, it's almost the full moon"

"I don't see why that's relevant; it'll have passed when we arrive at the village" answered Sirius, also looking up.

"You don't want to be outside up there on a full moon, it would be the most dangerous and stupid thing you could ever do and I don't want to face Greyback when he's at his strongest... So we wait a few days until the effects of the moon have faded. Believe me, he will already be difficult enough to catch as it is" Moony's answer made sense, even if it meant that they had to delay their journey.

"Fine, when do we leave then?" James asked

"We leave on Friday morning, meet me at dawn" and with those last words he left.

"Well, he's a cheerful fellow, isn't he?" Sirius commented, "This trip is going to be fun!"

 **R &R**


	2. Not so fun after all

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters in this story, they belong to J.K. Rowling. This story is an AU based on the story of** _ **cellorocksmyworld.**_ **The tittle of her story is "Give me up for gone" and it is amazing!**

 **AN: Two chapters in one day! Don't get used to it ;)**

Not so fun after all

James and Sirius left the inn they were staying at and apparated to the coordinates Moony had sent them. They were packed with two big rucksacks stuffed to the brink and with what James supposed to be muggle camping material. He would not know, he had never used any of it before today.

Acquiring everything that was on Moony's list had been difficult. They had had to pay for it in muggle money and had discovered the hard way that pounds were not accepted in Romania. James had already enough trouble understanding muggle currency as it was but the sales assistant that kept gesturing and shouting at him in a language he didn't understand at all, made everything ten times worst. They had worked everything out eventually and without obliviating anyone!

They landed on a small road, at the feet of what James guessed were the Carpathians mountains. A car passed by and honked, forcing them to take a few steps back into a muddy field. James cursed, those walking boots were brand new!

They saw Moony approach them from the other roadside. He looked tired and ill and not at all up for a three-days-long journey in the mountains. He was wearing a similar rucksack but his looked even heavier and, whereas everything James and Sirius were wearing was brand new, Moony's belongings looked old and used.

"You're late!" he greeted. They weren't, the first sun rays were just appearing on the horizon but when Moony said at dawn, he actually meant before dawn.

They walked at a good pace, Moony in front. James fancied himself athletic and thought he was in a fair good shape but after five minutes he was already puffing and sweating and Sirius wasn't doing any better. They didn't talk much, James and Sirius were saving their breaths and Moony wasn't the talkative type. The road, that had first looked so flat, was actually sloping and after half an hour James could feel his legs burn but their guide didn't seem bothered by it, he didn't slow and the gap between them was quickly growing.

"What's he doing?" Sirius asked after some time. Every time a car passed by (and there were not many, only 3 in the last two hours) Moony lifted his arm, thumb in the air and walked backwards to face the car. Sometimes a car would blink with his lights but most just passed by.

"I don't know" James answered.

Eventually, an old truck stopped. It was rusted, the blue paint was peeling off and it was transporting chickens. Remus talked to the driver and waved at them.

"He agrees to give us a lift," he said. He climbed in front, with the driver, telling the Aurors to make themselves comfortable at the back.

Sirius' excitement at traveling in a muggle car quickly died down, they were going faster, true, but the seating was uncomfortable and every bump in the road was painful. The chickens didn't help.

The driver dropped them off in a village and from there on they started climbing. They followed a walking path but soon Moony left it behind and started off-road and finally, finally, around one o'clock he decided it was time for a break!

They stopped at a stream and James sat down on a rock and started to take off his shoes, he could not feel his feet anymore but he hadn't any blisters either, the shoe brand Moony had advised him was a good one. Sirius let himself fall on a patch of moss at the foot of a nearby tree and he too started to undo the laces of his walking boots.

"I would not sit there if were you," Moony told him.

"Why not, it's comfortable!" Sirius replied.

Moony just shrugged his shoulders and walked to the stream to fill their bottles. Sirius stuck out his tongue at his back.

They ate their sandwiches in silence and after half an hour of rest, they were off again.

Soon, it became clear why Sirius should not have sat on the moss, his pants were wet. He took out his wand to dry his pants but Moony stopped him.

"Don't do that, you'll burn off your pants."

"It's just a drying charm!" Sirius countered, and before anyone could say anything else -like reminding him where they were and how magic worked here- he waved his wand. Immediately sparks started to fly and, just like Moony had predicted, flames erupted, setting his pants on fire. James was doubled over, laughing while Sirius emitted cries of pain. In a reflex, he used his wand to extinguish the fire. The aguamenti spell, that was supposed to release a clear stream of water, released a spurt so strong that it certainly equaled to the pipes firemen use. Sirius was now wet from head to toes and James could not stop laughing at his put out face. Moony snatched his wand out of his hand before he could try anything else.

"You're an idiot!" he told Sirius angrily.

They had to wait until Sirius changed into dry clothes before they could set off again.

Sirius kept complaining about his shoes that were still wet (he had no spare) and that he wanted his wand back. Moony point blank refused to hand it over and what started in an argument ended in a shouting match: Sirius reminded Moony that he was a Ministry Auror and that he could very well arrest him; Moony countered that he would like to see him try and added that he could leave them, then and there, if he wanted to and that they would be wandering the wilderness for days before finding their way back. Eventually, Moony kept the wand. James had to agree with Sirius, their guide was downright scary when he was angry.

At night they set up their camp in the mountain, far from everything and everyone. Moony showed them how to put up their tent the muggle way and how to use a gas cooker, but James really felt stupid when he had to show him how to use a hammer. Dinner was quiet but not too bad, Moony was a decent cook.

Afterwards, they built up a fire to allow Sirius to dry his clothes. James was surprised Moony agreed to it; he had thought he would refuse, just to annoy Sirius; but he answered it was a good idea. "The fire will keep the bears away," he said. James was sure he would not be able to sleep, knowing there were bears around and he could not use his wand to defend himself.

If he had thought they were going to have a nice evening around a campfire, singing songs and grilling marshmallows, he was badly mistaken. Remus went to bed almost directly, without even wishing them goodnight and James and Sirius followed his example a few minutes later, tired of the walking.

All with all, James had known better days.

 **xxXxx**

Why Remus had agreed to put up with those two idiots was beyond him. They were slow, didn't know anything about hiking and, worst of all, they were Aurors. He hated Aurors! He had considered several times to just leave them to it and go back home but he didn't think they would survive a night without him, or even an hour. It didn't help that it was that time of the month again and he was therefore unusually short-tempered.

Making the Aurors sit at the back of that truck had caused him great satisfaction and he had asked the driver to take every possible hole in the road instead of avoiding them. The man had given him a conspiring look and done his best.

He had been ready to hit Auror Black when he used his wand after he had specifically warned him not to. Auror Potter seemed nice enough, although he doubted the man would ever be able to take anything seriously and he talked way too much to Remus' taste. He didn't know how they intended to catch Greyback but he hoped they would be up to it.

Greyback was the only reason he had agreed to take part in this ridiculous adventure; he had a score to settle with that son of a bitch. The man was a menace but he was also clever and strong; Remus knew he stood no chance against him, not on his own anyway; but if the Ministry of Magic wanted to get rid of him then he could use it to his advantage, even if it meant working along with Aurors.

Talking about Aurors, where were those two nutters? He turned around but they were not following him anymore, even something as simple as keeping up seemed to be too complicated for them! He was retracing his steps, looking for them, when he heard voices. He turned a corner and spotted Sirius and James surrounded by three Berserkers.

Berserkers, unlike werewolves, centaurs and other "dark" creatures, were native to these mountains. They were half man and half bear; Remus always thought they looked like they had stayed stuck in the middle of one of their monthly transformations.

They had claws and sharp teeth and senses that rivalled those of any transformed werewolf. They were great hunters, smart, strong and stealthy (that was why he had not heard their approach). They had a very thick skin that protected them from magic and bad weather and they talked in a guttural language that sounded like growling bears.

But despite their fierce appearance, they had been very welcoming of the refugees of the magical world that had come seeking a safe haven in their mountains. Unfortunately for Sirius and James, Berserkers didn't like strangers and hated it when magic was used on their territory -it scared of prey, they said- and the fact that they had both their wands raised didn't make them any more likeable in their eyes.

"Stop!" Remus shouted, to the Berserkers or the Aurors, he didn't know.

He approached the group; he saw from the corner of his eye that James let out a sigh of relief; and addressed the leader of the group. He didn't know any of them personally, but the leader was usually the biggest and the hairiest. He saluted him with a growl, as was their custom and the berserker growled back.

Remus told them that the two men they were currently holding at spare's end were his friends –lie¬- but his pronunciation must be rusty because they didn't understand. Instead of letting them go they pressed harder, almost making a hole in Sirius' shirt.

"No!" the three of them shouted at once. "Look..." Remus continued, and he tried another language.

He had to use a mixture of Serbian, Romanian and a local dialect to make himself clear and only after several minutes of translating and hand gestures did he manage to have Sirius and James released.

"That was close" James commented.

"What do they want?" Sirius asked, but Remus was too busy trying to understand the leader, Bjorn, to pay attention. Everyone was talking to him again and he had a hard time keeping his head out of it. The two Aurors would just have to wait before he was ready to satisfy their curiosity. Eventually, he turned around and answered Sirius' question.

"They offer us passage on their lands."

 **R &R**


	3. To go beserk

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters in this story, they belong to J.K. Rowling. This story is an AU based on the story of** _ **cellorocksmyworld.**_ **The tittle of her story is "Give me up for gone" and it is amazing!**

 **A/N: I hope you like the story!**

To go berserk

It didn't make any sense to follow unknown people around in a dark forest, let alone Berserkers who a minute beforehand had been pointing their weapons at your throat, but Moony had said to follow them, so they did. Sirius didn't like their guide, he was cold and distant and treated him like a child, he admitted he had messed up yesterday with his wand but was it his fault he had never gone camping, let alone the muggle way?

It had almost been the end of the day when they met those Berserkers and Sirius had been looking forward to food and rest but apparently that wasn't on the program anymore. It was well past dark and still, they kept walking!

He stumbled over a root and almost fell but a heavy hand on his shoulder kept him from toppling over. The three Berserkers, who had been joined by four others, had stayed close to him and James to help them navigate the mountain in the dark and although it would hurt his pride to admit it out loud, he was grateful for their help. Moony was walking in front and still talking with the leader, it looked like they were going along splendidly.

"Shit!" he could hear James swear behind him; apparently he had just stumbled over the same root but landed on his hand and knees. Sirius lent him a hand to get up.

"Until when do you think we will keep going?" he asked his friend.

"I don't know," James answered irritated, "ask Moony!"

"Yeah right, like he is ever going to tell us!"

They didn't need have worried, not two minutes later they entered a clearing. A fire was already burning and a small boar was roasting on a spit above it. Tents were set up around, made of wood and tree branches. They were rudimentary and didn't look like they could protect from much, but then again, the Berserkers didn't look like they needed a lot of protection either.

"We will stay here for tonight," Moony announced, "set up your tent quickly; they offer us dinner."

If James had any reserves about staying with dangerous berserkers –does it need to be reminded that berserkers are classified XXXXX by the Ministry?- he didn't show it. Sirius may have complained had their not been the prospect of nice warm food.

When they joined the others –it took longer to set up the tent than the day before, but they did it without Moony's help this time- dishes of meat were already being passed around. Sirius attacked his meal with at least as much enthusiasm as any Berserker. One of the creatures said something and everyone laughed. Sirius was convinced he had been the pun of the joke.

"What did they say?" he asked Moony.

"I don't know," he lied, "I didn't understand it!"

Sirius doubted that very much because he had been laughing along with the others.

"Then ask them!" he replied but Moony just rolled his eyes and continued his dinner.

Enough was enough! Sirius was a very likeable person, even if he only said so himself, and he would be damned if he would spend the evening as the laughingstock of the group. He stood up and outstretched his hand to the berserker next to him;

"Hi, I'm Sirius Black" he introduced himself, "nice to meet you!" The Berserker looked taken aback by Sirius' bold approach but smiled at him. He shook his hand with his own big paw and answered something that sounded like "Bernik".

Sirius went around the group, introducing himself, and everyone answered him friendlily. He did not understand all of their names but he caught a few; there were Bernik and Bjorn of course, but he also remembered Narg, Jarn and Badrog.

Moony scowled at him when he wanted to introduce himself to him again.

"I already know who you are!" he said. This time, when the berserkers laughed, Sirius was sure it was at Moony's expense.

James introduced himself more casually, just saying his name out loud, and afterwards they both felt much more included. At least the Berserkers tried to talk to them, even though the language gap was a real problem. James took out the little translation book he had had the foresight to buy before they left for Eastern Europe, but it didn't help much. More often than not Moony was asked to translate and apparently he felt like he could not refuse their hosts because he complied. When Badrog took out a bottle of alcohol, words weren't necessary anymore.

The evening was much merrier than the previous one.

 **xxXxx**

When Sirius offered him a glass, James answered he would pass for tonight. He didn't stomach alcohol as good as Sirius did and someone had to stay sober to drag him to bed afterwards. He looked over at Moony who was in a deep conversation with Bjorn. They were bent over a map and it looked like Moony was asking questions.

James went to sit next to him.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Moony was quick to reply, he was about to fold the map but Bjorn stopped him and said him something James could not understand.

Moony unfolded the map again and unwillingly explained, "Apparently, Greyback's on the move, Bjorn just explained that he intends to cross this valley," he pointed at a place, "we need to cut him off before he does or we will never catch up with him."

"So, what do you suggest?" James asked.

"We leave very early tomorrow morning" Moony replied, looking as if James was stupid. Bjorn intervened again.

"What did he say?"

"He said they will accompany us to the borders of their territory, they know their own lands like no one, it will be much faster," he translated.

Bjorn pointed at Sirius, saying something else, but before James could ask what he said, Moony cut him off, "He advises you to go save your friend; if he decides to participate in their drinking contest he will never survive it!"

James had to agree that tonight wasn't perhaps the best time to get completely wasted; they still had a long walk tomorrow. He also understood that Moony was trying to get rid of him and he wasn't going to let him off that easily.

"We need to talk," he said.

"About what?"

"About the way you handled the situation earlier!"

Bjorn, sensing an argument was blooming, clapped James on the shoulder, as if to wish him good luck –that was weird, should he not encourage Moony, to whom he was closer?- and left, probably to save Sirius from his companions.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Moony answered, he folded the map again and put it away in his bag. He got up but James pushed him back down.

"Sit down!" he hissed and Moony scowled, "You left us completely in the dark! You didn't tell us you knew those people, you didn't say where we were going and when we would be there, and if Bjorn had not been there you would not have discussed your plans for tomorrow either!" James accused angrily.

"I don't need your approval, you hired me to bring you to Greyback and that's what I'm doing! I don't need to discuss anything with you!" he replied.

"Yes, you do! We are in charge of this case and we should take the decisions together!"

"Fine," Moony sighed, "what do you want to know?"

"Who are those people, do you know them?" James asked.

"I don't know them personally, but I know other clans," Moony answered, "and apparently they did know me." James decided not to elaborate on that last statement, it was strange but he would ask about it later. "Why did we follow them here?" he asked instead.

"Because they invited us!" at James' sceptical raised eyebrow he admitted, "It's a shortcut."

"So why didn't you take us this way in the first place?" James inquired.

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe because you two work for a bigoted, biased Ministry who hunts down half-breeds to mark them and kill them?" Moony shouted back angrily before getting up and leaving.

"Ooh..." James stood there gaping; he had not expected such an outburst. What Moony said about avoiding the Berserkers in the first place made sense but it didn't warrant such a cold behaviour on his part.

 _Perhaps one of his family members is a half-breed_ ; James thought when he lay in bed that night, listening to Sirius snore beside him. If he had to leave Britain –because Moony was definitely British, he had kept the accent- because a member of his family fell under the conditions of the Regulation Law, then he could understand his anger at Aurors and the Ministry.

 **R &R**


	4. What to expect

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters in this story, they belong to J.K. Rowling. This story is an AU based on the story of** _ **cellorocksmyworld.**_ **The tittle of her story is "Give me up for gone" and it is amazing!**

What to expect

They left very early the next morning. The sun had not even risen yet. Remus had had to be very persuasive to wake up the two Aurors. He had even considered using another _aguamenti_ spell on Sirius, but he had finally settled for gently nudging him with his foot. Eventually, everyone was up and about and they could depart.

The Berserkers showed them the way through the forest and the mountain, leading them across narrow passages and along steep cliffs. Even Remus, who was used to the mountains, would not have dared to take some of the paths they walked on if he had been on his own, but the Berserkers led them safely through everything. The first snow had fallen the previous night, the ground was hard, the leaves kept crisping under their feet and it was bitterly cold.

Around midday, they said goodbye to the Berserkers and Remus took the lead for the last part of the journey. Hopefully, they would reach Greyback before nightfall and he would not have to put up with the Aurors any longer.

"They're not that bad, those Berserkers" Sirius commented. Remus had to admit he had been surprised the Auror had managed to befriend some of them.

"Funny you'd say that," he answered, "because they said the same thing about you!"

What was intended as an insult came across as a compliment. Sirius beamed with happiness.

"Really? That's nice of them! I think I would like to stay in contact."

Remus didn't know how he intended to do that since Berserkers weren't used to owl post, could not read and didn't speak the same language. But then again, this pure-blood ministry Auror had managed to befriend Dark Creatures so he should not be surprised.

After the events of the previous evening, he had had to reconsider his companions. They were Aurors, but as far as Aurors went they seemed okay, he would even go as far as to say that they were nice. But it would never go any further than that. Nice didn't mean trustworthy. He was sure if they ever discovered what _he_ was, they would take him down immediately.

It was the end of the afternoon when they found proof they were closing in on their target. James spotted claw marks on a tree. He first thought they were left by a bear but Remus clarified:

"Those are fresh marks."

He could tell because the tree was still bleeding. What he didn't say, though, was that Greyback's smell was still in the air. It was faint but it was there. "Greyback leaves them to scare off intruders."

"What kind of person does that?" James asked. Remus was surprised he didn't jump straight to any conclusions about werewolves.

"Someone who's not quite right in the head" he answered.

"Do you know him?" Sirius asked.

Yes, the bastard bit me when I was four, turning my life into hell ever since and starting the set of events that brought me here today. But he could not tell them that.

"I've met the guy" he answered instead and he wasn't even lying. There was a long pause.

"How far ahead do you think he is?" James asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Not far, an hour, maybe two. We should be able to catch up soon."

He took out his wand. He did not know how the magic would work, strong or weak, or even if it would work, but he liked his chances with his wand better than to stumble into Greyback's camp unharmed. Sirius, noticing his actions, raised his eyebrow.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you taking out your wand?" he repeated

"Like I said, we're close. Better have our wands at the ready," without magic he would not stand a chance; Greyback was stronger, older and a more powerful werewolf.

"But you're not coming with us," Sirius said, surprising him. His tone was one you might expect to be used with a young child, to explain that no, eating sweets before dinner was not allowed.

"Yeah, right," he said, humouring the Auror. He started to walk again in the direction he thought Greyback was, only to be stopped by James' hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off.

When he saw the look they were giving each other, it occurred to him that they intended to leave him out of the action.

"This is a joke, right? You're joking!"

"Look, Moony," James tried in a placating voice, both hands raised to appease him.

"No, I brought you here!" Remus said angrily.

"Greyback is dangerous," Sirius tried to reason him, "you would not stand a chance."

"Trust me, I know exactly how dangerous he is!" Remus replied.

"Then you understand we can't let a kid go up against him," Sirius said.

"You don't have any training," James added.

 _A kid? No training?_ Remus snorted, they didn't have a clue about how good he was with a wand, or his fists.

He took a deep breath to calm himself; it would not help if he punched those two morons in the face.

"I'm not a kid and I have faced danger before!" he said instead.

"Look, I'm sure you can look after yourself," Sirius started to say.

"No, you don't understand!" Remus interrupted him. His tone was desperate. They had to understand! Greyback had taken so much from him that he deserved to be the one to confront him but he needed the Aurors to take him down. But if he told them as much they would certainly not allow him to come.

He passed his hands through his hair, irritated. How could he defend his case without revealing what he was?

"You won't be able to catch him on your own" he tried again.

"We're Aurors" James replied.

"Yes, and he's a murderer and a Death Eater!" he countered.

"Don't worry, we've faced worst," Sirius said.

"I very much doubt that!" he shouted. He turned to James, thinking he would be easier to convince, "He has heightened senses, he will hear and smell you come from miles around before you even reach him and he's stronger and faster than any man. You would have been able to take him in a magical duel but as it is you're not even sure your magic is going to work."

"Even though, it's none of your concern," James said, but Remus could see his words had shaken him.

"We will find a nice spot and help you set up camp," Sirius said in a mothering voice. As if Remus needed their help if he wanted to set up camp. He reached for Remus bag but he brushed him off.

"If this is payback about yesterday," he trailed off instead.

"It's not about yesterday" James reassured him.

"Then let me put it this way," he said, determined, "Either we go together and I show you the way and how to catch him unaware or I leave now and you'll never find him!"

That put them in their place. Sirius was shaking his head, cursing his name but he could see James was hesitating.

"Fine, you can come" he relented.

"What? James no! He's too young!" Sirius objected.

Remus was young, true, but not inexperienced. He was twenty but he had been looking after himself, on his own, since he was fifteen.

"He's as old as we were when we were fighting for the Order" James replied.

"We won't be able to look after him!" Sirius countered.

"And he knows that," he turned to Remus, "Don't you?"

"Yes"

"We cannot guarantee you will come out unharmed," he repeated; Remus nodded.

"Nor alive," Sirius added.

"I know"

James looked him in the eye and what he saw must have convinced him because he started on his safety speech.

"We give the orders and you'll obey them, without questions!" James said.

"No arguing, no hesitating, no disobeying!" Sirius added.

"If we say run, you run!" James ordered.

"If we tell you to hide, you hide," Sirius filled in.

"If we tell you to leave us behind and to bring yourself to safety..."

"...you leave us behind and you bring yourself to safety!" Sirius finished the speech.

James and Sirius finished each other's sentences as if their speech was rehearsed.

Remus bore all their ministrations the best he could, without interrupting. He nodded and adopted what he hoped to be a stern and serious expression on his face. Once they were face to face with Greyback, he would do exactly as he saw fit, expecting the Aurors would back him up.

 **xxXxx**

Sirius was pissed off that James had allowed the kid to come with them. A rock pebble took the brunt of his anger. He kicked it and it rolled down the slope, taking others with it. Both James and Moony sent him an angry look. Right, they were supposed to be stealthy.

They had left everything in a nearby clearing, only keeping their wands, clothes and shoes. Then Moony had taken them around Greyback's camp so they could stay under the wind. He had made them take off their anoraks that, according to him, made too much noise, and he had them coat their clothes with mud and leaves to hide their smell.

Sirius had wondered how Moony knew so much precise information about werewolves. He had a vague suspicion, but he didn't dare to confront him. If he was wrong it would anger Moony and if he was right, well then it may just scare him off.

He saw that his companions were creeping on their stomachs now, through brushes, and with a (silent) sigh, he too lowered himself to the ground.

They stopped. The three of them lay side by side on their stomachs hidden under the bushes and out of sight. Sirius could feel thorns bite in his arms but he didn't say anything about it. The time wasn't to joking or complaining anymore; this was serious business. He snorted in his head at the word pun, he would have to tell James about it later.

From their position, they had a good view of the camp, although "camp" was a big word to describe it. From what Sirius could see there was one tent and a campfire along which sat exactly three people, huddled together in blankets. He and James took out their binoculars to watch the movements of the werewolves.

There was an elderly woman, cooking in a pot, a teen that only looked a year older than his godson, Harry, and a kid he didn't think was older than ten. Two men appeared out of the forest, bring wood for the fire. The first one was tall, scrawny and looked like he could do with a warm meal and some sleep. The second one was a few inches smaller but he had broad shoulders and strong hands and arms. He was wearing long black hair and an unkempt beard; he looked more the part of the ferocious werewolf as Sirius had always imagined them.

The others were just pitiful.

"Where is the rest of the pack?" he asked James, in a low whisper. There were supposed to be twenty, thirty bloodthirsty werewolves, threatening the wizarding world, not five poor souls freezing in the cold.

James shrugged, he didn't know either.

"I can't see Greyback," he said instead, scanning the camp with the binoculars again.

"He's in the tent," Moony answered his question.

A few moments later and Greyback appeared. He snarled something at the old lady. She offered him a bowl of soup but he smashed it out of her hands. He tried to hit her too, but to Sirius' surprise, she ducked and went to sit on the other side of the campfire, like nothing had happened.

Sirius had never seen anyone lash out so fast, but even though, the old lady had been able to dodge it.

Greyback scared the children away and took their place at the campfire _and_ their blanket. He served himself in the cooking pot from which the old lady had only minutes before filled his bowl. It was just senseless.

From what Sirius could tell, this man was irrational, crazy and highly violent. He reminded him strongly of Voldemort, although old Voldy had also been cunning on top of it.

"There you have him," Remus commented, and before anyone could stop him, he got up and entered the clearing, wand drawn.

Sirius and James swore but followed nonetheless. They could not leave the kid face that monster on his own, could they?

 **R &R**

 **A/N: Next chapter, the fight with Greyback!**


	5. Greyback

**Disclaimer: same as for the previous chapters**

 **A/N: The chapter started to grow a bit longer than I expected so I decided to cut it here. Enjoy your reading!**

Greyback

James saw Moony get up and break into the clearing. He tried to grab his ankle –from his low position, it was the only part he could reach- but it was too late. He shared a grim look with Sirius and together they rose and followed Moony, out of the covers of the trees and into the clearing, ready to face the most ferocious and vicious werewolf alive.

 **xxXxx**

Greyback heard them coming, he turned around and got up from the log he was sitting on around the fire. He was exactly as Remus remembered him, if only a bit older. His face could have been called handsome, had it not been for the scars that marked it. He was of average height and built, but Remus knew better. This man was able to break a neck with his bare hands. With those same hands, he could also pull out your guts if he felt like it, thanks to his long claws.

Greyback looked composed, as if not surprised to see three strangers enter his camp, but his dark eyes could not quite hide his madness. The eyes, the claws and the fangs, were three undeniable signs that Greyback had let the wolf take over his human mind.

Furthermore, he had long, once brown now greying, hair and beard, and he was wearing the famous grey wolfskin that had given him his name on his back.

When he recognised Remus, he smiled, showing his sharp yellow fangs. Remus could feel goosebumps crawling down his back, he shuddered. The creepiest part was that the smile seemed genuine. Greyback was genuinely happy to see him. His next words confirmed it:

"My son," he said, "I'm so glad you could come!" He parted his arms in a mocking gesture of a warm embrace, as if he expected Remus to run the twenty feet that separated them to come and hug him. Remus didn't move an inch from where he stood but raised his wand instead.

"Now my son, there's no need for that between us," he said, eyeing the wand, "Why don't you introduce your companions? Everyone is welcome to join the pack!" his tone was frighteningly pleasant.

"We're not here to join you," Remus answered.

"We're Aurors of the Ministry of Magic of Great-Britain," Sirius said, his voice was authoritative and any sign of laughter was gone from his face. He was no longer the cheerful and a bit clumsy traveling companion. For the first time, Remus realised he had the help of two full-fledged Aurors on his side, and although they had been a pain to drag along, they knew how to deal with criminals. They knew how to fight.

"We have come to enforce the arrest warrant at your name, we're here to take you back to England so you can face a trial for your crimes," Sirius continued. At his word, the rest of the pack got up and shuffled closer.

"You traitor!" Greyback hissed, and he took a step to Remus, but before he could do anything, James and Sirius stepped protectively in front of him, wands drawn.

"Why did you bring them to us, Moony?" the old lady asked. Remus recognized her now; it was Old Mad Maggie, although she wasn't as old as she looked and certainly not as mad. He had heard she had lost her husband and daughter a few months back. _That explains why she has joined him_.

"I'm sorry Mag," he said, "but he has to be stopped."

"They will kill us all Moony! And you with us!" she answered angrily.

Greyback started to laugh. He laughed so hard he had to grab Maggie's shoulder to stay upright. Remus could not understand what was so funny. _Merlin, he's even crazier than I remembered!_

Eventually, Greyback straightened, brushing away fake tears.

"But my dear old Maggie, he has not told them!" he turned to Remus, "You didn't tell your Auror friends what you are, did you?" and he smirked.

"Let me enlighten them then," he said, "Your little friend here's a werewolf, just like the rest of us but that's not all of it; I know for a fact that there's an arrest warrant on your head too, Remus Lupin!"

Remus tensed, he could not keep back the low growl that escaped his lips. God, he hated that man! He glanced sideways at James and Sirius. He had smelled their surprise the moment Greyback had said his name, although it didn't show on their faces. They had not flinched, however, when Maggie had mentioned him being one if theirs, revealing he was a werewolf. They had not started shouting at Remus, nor had they tried to curse him. On the contrary, their eyes and wands were kept firmly on their adversary.

Seeing that his plan to turn the Aurors against him had not worked he changed his approach.

"That's your friend Remus to you, Old Maggie! He will not save you or anyone! He doesn't want to help us, he wants to kill us! He's consorting with the enemy! Traitor!" he yelled.

"Let's kill him!" Brant, the taller werewolf bellowed, but no one made any move.

"Remus, explain yourself," Old Maggie begged.

"They won't hurt you, Maggie. They're only here for him," he pointed at Greyback, "Stay out of it and you'll be left in peace, I promise!"

"Well if he promises, then we should believe him!" Greyback said mockingly.

"You can all leave now and no one will come after you" James helped Remus, "but if you intervene, we won't have any other choice than to arrest you too, what do you decide?"

Maggie took the two children and held them close to her. The youngest was crying. She looked at Remus for confirmation and when he nodded she took a few steps back, away from Greyback. Then she turned and ran into the forest. The lanky boy seemed to hesitate before he too turned and ran.

Greyback growled in anger. There only remained one last werewolf.

"This is not your fight," Remus told the man he thought was named Brant.

"He's the Alpha!" Brant said, "You should fight for him, not against him!"

"Bullshit!" Remus spat, "He's not an Alpha, he's just a power hungry man that came up with the title!"

Brant seemed to hesitate.

"He'll free us!" he said, but he sounded more as if he was trying to convince himself than anyone else.

"He isn't going to free you! Don't you understand? The more the wizards are afraid of us, the more power he has! He is never going to give up that power!" Remus shouted.

"We deserve to live in peace, he will bring peace!"

"Yes, we deserve to live in peace, but Greyback is never going to bring that!"

Brant hesitated and then he took a step back, away from Greyback.

"You coward!" Greyback shouted, "I'm your father, you belong to me! Fight for me"

But Brant took another step back, and, as if finally seeing sense, he turned and ran to join the others in the forest.

"Will you come calmly on do we need to use force?" James asked.

Greyback snarled at him baring his teeth. He took an aggressive stance, hunched, ready to fight.

"I don't even know why you bothered to ask" Sirius commented.

 **R &R**


	6. Flee or fight

**Disclaimer: same as for the previous chapters**

 **A/N: Here we go! Sorry for the long wait but real life (school) caught up with me!**

 **Enjoy your reading!**

Flee or fight

To everyone's surprise, Greyback didn't launch himself at any of them. Instead, he took out his wand and, as quick as lightening, sent a curse at James. It wasn't even a curse Sirius recognized, more like a punch of brute magic. Not expecting Greyback to have a wand, James didn't dodge in time and the curse hit him square in the chest.

He was sent flying backwards and Sirius saw him hit a tree with cracking noise.

"James!"

He ran to where his best friend had landed in a heap of tangled limbs.

 _Please, don't be dead! Please, don't be dead!_

He reached his friend and panicky started looking for a pulse. He put his finger to James' neck and waited... _Please, don't be dead!_

Sirius had a feeling he waited a lifetime before he felt it, the light heartbeat that proved his friend was very much alive. _Oh, thank Merlin_! He hugged his friends before starting to shake him lightly. When there was no response, he firmly slapped him on the cheek.

James groaned but didn't wake up. Sirius, who was now sure his friend would be all right, turned to Greyback again.

He saw that the two werewolves were wrestling on the ground but Greyback clearly had the upper hand. He bore his teeth in Moony's arm, who let out a cry of pain.

Having beaten Moony, Greyback turned to Sirius, leaving Remus injured and -from what Sirius could see- bloody, on the ground behind him.

Greyback launched himself at Sirius.

"Stupefy!" he yelled, pointing his wand, but nothing happened. Bloody wards! A moment later and the monster was on him. He tried to punch him but Sirius blocked him. He was struggling under Greyback's weight who was trying to rip him open with his claws.

Suddenly, the weight was gone. Remus had used the same brute magic as Greyback earlier and blasted him off, sending him flying. He didn't manage to make him hit a tree, though.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded and accepted his hand to get up.

"Shaken" he mumbled.

They turned in time to see Greyback run away on all fours to the forest. Without a second of hesitation, Remus went after him; he was running on two legs but was almost as fast. Sirius followed but they were already out of sight, hidden by the trees.

"Moony!" he shouted, "Remus!"

 _Shit!_ He ran, listening for noises of a fight and looking for traces, anything that could lead him to the two werewolves before it was too late. He regularly shouted Remus' name but there was no answer. He knew shouting gave his position away but he didn't have any other means to find them.

Merlin, he hated those mountains and the capricious magic! He hated this dark forest with the close growing trees and the thick bushes! Everything was stalling his progress. He knew they could not be far, but still, if Sirius didn't find them Greyback could kill Moony. He was not letting the kid die! Not on his watch!

Suddenly he heard a noise. A cry of pain -Moony!- and growling and snarling, that was definitely Greyback! He ran to where the sounds were coming from. He arrived at the edge of the forest. The ground was made of hard yellow rocks and there were only a few rachitic trees here. He spotted the pair at the edge of a cliff, rolling over each other and trying to do as much harm as possible. He stopped twenty steps from the two wrestling people on the ground. Remus was down on his back with Greyback on top of him, trying to choke him. He needed to separate them, to save Moony! He started running but before he reached them, Remus managed to throw Greyback off; Sirius saw with relief that his friend was alright and reached to help him up, but in a split second, everything changed.

"Watch out!" he shouted, but Greyback had already thrown himself at Moony, and to his horror, he saw both of them rolling off the cliff.

 **xxXxx**

To everyone's surprise, Greyback had a wand. A few seconds into the fight and James was already out, sent flying against a tree. So much for the Aurors' help!

"James!" he could hear Sirius shout.

Greyback raised his wand again, but before he could curse Sirius, Remus had thrown himself at him.

He collided with the bigger werewolf and sent both of them to the ground. He wrestled to keep Greyback under him long enough to handcuff him, and for a few seconds, he really thought he would be able to beat him. That was until Greyback overcame his surprise and started to throughout trounce Remus, punching and clawing his stomach and anywhere he could reach. Remus was sure he had already bruised ribs from the collision alone but he was not going down without a fight.

He punched Greyback in the face and heard the satisfying noise of his nose breaking. However, his victory didn't last long as Greyback used his overwhelming strength to push Remus off. He felt a searing pain in his arm where Greyback bore his teeth into it, drawing blood.

"I will take care of you later!" he growled in his ear, slamming Remus' head in the mud.

He kicked him one last time in the gut before turning to where Sirius was still kneeling next to James.

Remus felt dazed. Through a blurry sight, he saw Greyback pouncing on all fours, launching himself at Sirius but the Auror held his ground.

With new resolve, Remus pushed himself from the ground and took out his wand. He was not going to let Greyback kill those stupid Aurors! Not on his watch! He silently begged all deities he knew of for his magic to cooperate and sent a silent Impedimenta curse at Greyback's back. To his relief, it worked.

"Are you okay?" he asked Sirius.

"Shaken"

Remus helped Sirius up. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Greyback was escaping, running into the forest. Without thinking, he ran after him.

Greyback was faster and he was soon out of sight but Remus was not ready to give up. He could not go far! He could still hear Sirius behind him, but the sounds he made grew fainter and fainter. He even heard him shout his name, but if he stopped now, he would lose Greyback!

Remus caught up with him at the edge of the forest, at the brink of a steep precipice. He was waiting for him. Remus realised he had just blindly followed him into a trap.

"I thought you would join me, that you would see sense. Wolves are pack animals after all, we are stronger in number! Together we would have been unstoppable. We could have set things right in the world. We could have made a stand for werewolf rights! But instead, you betrayed me! Your own father!"

"You're not my father!" he yelled, Remus was trembling with rage, he had never experienced such a hate toward someone!

"I created you! I made you who you are!" Greyback said.

"You didn't create me! You ruined my life! It's your fault we are all being persecuted!"

"They will never accept you, you idiot mutt! Only by force will we make our place in this world!"

With a growl, he lunged at Remus. He slashed his paw to cut Remus' throat but missed –Remus had managed to block him at the last minute- and cut his face instead. He cried out. _Merlin that hurt!_

Remus took out his wand, intending to throw Greyback off again but it was punched out of his hands and went rolling off somewhere. Greyback grabbed his neck, his nails boring holes in his skin, and he started to squeeze.

Remus tried to pull at the hands but he was not strong enough. He thought he heard Sirius shouting his name but he could not answer. Surely an illusion. The edges of his vision were already clouding black. That was when Remus realised he was going to die.

But he didn't want to.

With the last shreds of consciousness and coherent thinking, Remus let go of Greyback's hands. He started to feel on the ground next to him. He was looking for something -anything!- to save him.

His fingers found a rock. He gripped it and using all the strength he had left, he hit his assailant on the side of the head. The swing was enough to make Greyback loosen his grip and Remus took a few hard needed gulps of air.

But the fight was not over. Before Greyback could tighten his hands again, Remus took one and bit it hard, drawing blood.

Greyback howled with pain and Remus managed to throw him off. He was on hands and knees gasping for air when he heard a shout, "Watch out!"

At the same time he felt a hard body collide with him, they rolled over, once, twice, and suddenly Remus felt a pull in his stomach. They were falling.

 **R &R**

 **A/N: Soooo! There's literally a cliffy at the end of this chapter! What did you think of the fighting scene, not too long/boring/uncoherent?**


	7. Tentative Friendship

**What is this? An update? Sorry for the long long wait! I will try to update more regularly in the future!**

Tentative friendship

Sirius grabbed Moony's hand before he could make the 13 feet fall and crash on the rocks below, but the boy's weight and momentum made him almost lose his balance and tumble over the edge himself. Greyback tried to grab Remus' legs but only managed to leave some bloody lacerations before he had to let go and went crashing down. When the werewolf landed on the rocks, Sirius heard a loud cracking noise followed by a howl of pain. From what he could see, the man had landed at an angle and had broken his leg, probably both.

It happened to be a bit of a struggle to lift Moony to safety, his dead weight was dragging them both into the deep and from the lying position he was in, Sirius could not find enough grip to hoist him up.

"Don't let go!" Moony panted, he looked up with scared eyes. His face was all red and purple bruises from the fight, but his eyes stood wide and scared. At that moment, he looked very young and vulnerable.

"I won't!" Sirius answered and gripped his hands harder. "Try to put your feet against the rock."

His words seemed to calm Moony, his struggles went from random to precise and Sirius felt the difference the moment he managed to find grip with his feet against the rocks. Pulling him up and to safety was an easy feat after that.

The both laid down on the grass and hard frozen ground at the rand of the precipice. They panted hard and their breath formed small clouds of condensation in the cold air. Eventually, they made to get up, Sirius climbing on his feet easily while Moony struggled into a sitting position. Groaning in pain.

"Where are you hurt?" asked Sirius crouching next to him. He took out his wand ready to cast some healing spells.

"Everywhere!" Moony snapped, he was grumpier than he had been during their journey and he looked terrible. There was a big gash on his cheek and his nose was bleeding. And from the look of it, he had bruises everywhere. His clothes were torn in places and some blood was dripping from his legs into the grass. Sirius quickly evaluated all that he saw and concluded that although Mooney was pretty beaten up, none of the injuries was life-threatening. He needn't be afraid of the boy catching lycanthropy either, seeing as he was already a werewolf. Sirius didn't know how to feel about that and pushed the thoughts away for later consideration.

"Okay, hold still and I will heal your legs." He started to wave his wand but Moony pushed his arm away.

"There are some first aid supplies in my bags," he said instead when Sirius was about to protest.

Right, the magic! Sirius could hit himself for his stupidity! He just always forgot! He had relied on magic since he was old enough to understand it and had never lived without since. He hoped Moony knew some muggle first aid because he didn't.

Sirius put his wand away and offered Moony a hand. He scrutinized him for a long moment before taking it.

Sirius pulled the young werewolf to his feet, slung his arm around his shoulders and helped him hop back to camp and back to James.

 **xxXxx**

Remus was a bit confused. He had not expected to come out of his fight with Greyback alive. He had just experienced two near-death experiences in the span of a few minutes and both times he had been saved by an Auror, first from choking and then from a fall that could've killed him as well as not. Talking about that… "What happened to Greyback?" he asked Sirius.

"He's at the bottom of that cliff, still alive, and not going anywhere soon…" Sirius said in a grim tone.

A glance over the edge confirmed that Greyback had two broken legs, even from up here he could see his chest rising and falling peacefully. No fatal injuries but no getting away without help either.

"We'll need to fish him up later," Sirius said, seeing where Remus was looking. He readjusted his grip on his arm and together they started walking again.

"Or we could leave him there" Remus mumbled. Sirius grinned at him until he saw that he was not in fact joking.

"We were sent here to arrest him, and that is what we will do." He said with his most serious tone. Remus didn't comment.

They stumbled forth at an excoriating slow pace, Remus, to his embarrassment, leaning heavily on Sirius. Without his support, he would not have gotten far. Again, he wondered why Sirius was helping him. He had been an ass during the whole journey and now that Sirius knew he was a werewolf he could have just left him there.

They met James halfway. He had a bump the size and the colour of an apple on his forehead and was not entirely coherent in his words or his demeanour. He kept swinging this way or that and stumbling over his own feet. Sirius caught him by his elbow before he crashed into them.

"You okay, Jamie?" he asked. Remus scowled, of course, he wasn't! The man clearly had a commotion, but he kept his mouth shut.

James mumbled something incoherent and swayed again, before focusing on Remus, "Hey! Mooneeeey! You're here!"

"We should lie him down," Remus said.

In the end, they decided to set up their camp where they stood. Everyone was tired, and dark was settling in. Remus stayed behind to keep an eye on James while Sirius went to retrieve their bags.

Remus started a fire and convinced James to lie down. When Sirius returned he bandaged James' head and gave him some potion against the pain and some muggle pills against the swelling. He fed James some cold meat and water while Sirius put up the tent. Then he rolled him into his sleeping bag and his snores accompanied them for the rest of the evening and late into the night.

Once James was taken care of, Remus looked after his own injuries. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time he had to patch himself up like this, in fact, this was more or less a monthly occurrence.

He saw Sirius cooking, he had managed to turn on the gas stove with the matches and he was warming a can of soup in a small pan. He kept glancing worried looks toward the entrance of his tent where James was still snoring.

"Don't worry," Remus said, "He has a concussion, but he should be alright. A few days of rest and he will be as good as new."

"Thanks for taking care of him, I wouldn't have known what to do"

"Don't you Aurors have any first aid training?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, we do, except it's, you know, magical first aid" Sirius sighed, "Useless around here."

Remus continued taking care of his legs, the scratches weren't deep, but he hissed in pain when he poured the alcohol to disinfect them.

"You need a hand?" Sirius offered.

He gave him a flat look: "From an Auror who doesn't know anything about muggle medicine? No thank you!"

Sirius grinned and continued to stir the soup. "I know some things about muggles", he answered, "I had muggle studies when I was at Hogwarts. Got an O.W.L. in it too."

"If you got an O.W.L in muggle studies, the class must not have been really difficult" Remus teased.

"Very funny!" But Remus could see Sirius was not angry, he could take a joke. When he started pouring the soup into two bowls, he asked: "Why did you take Muggle Studies?"

He had asked the question to keep the light conversation going, but he saw Sirius was uncomfortable now.

"Nevermind."

"Nah, it's okay. To be honest, I just took it to spite my family. They're of the old stock, you see, they're a bit old-fashioned in their beliefs." He coughed and looked away.

"What, they against werewolves?" Remus joked, because everyone was against werewolves.

"No, Muggles actually."

So, his family were blood purists. Funny, he'd thought that the Muggle-hating tendencies had blown over after the war. The new fashion being the hunt for the so-called dark creatures instead.

He told Sirius so.

"I never thought about it that way," Sirius confessed, "but I guess there exist some similarities between how Voldemort treated muggles and how werewolves are seen nowadays."

There's hope for him still, Remus thought. His appreciation of the Auror growing a bit.

"Although werewolves are considerably more dangerous than muggles," he continued.

And he ruined it…

Remus wasn't in the mood to start a discussion about ethics, not when he was hurt and tired and likely to lose his temper. Not when he was unable to defend himself, should the Auror decide he'd rather arrest than sharing a fire. Instead, he blurted out the question he had been asking himself the whole evening.

"Then why did you save me?"

Sirius looked up, "What?"

"You saved my life today, twice, even though you knew I was a werewolf, 'a dark creature…'" he quoted. "Why did you do that if you think we are so dangerous?" he asked. He stared right back into Sirius grey eyes. He was not going to show any signs of fear even though he was anxious to hear the answer.

"Well, I didn't think… It was instinct I guess" Sirius answered, and he was the first to lower his gaze.

"Oh…" Remus didn't know what to answer to that. They finished dinner in silence and he took the opportunity to think things over. He didn't know what to make of Sirius, on the one hand, he was rather nice and fun to be around once you got used to his bad jokes and his sometimes child-like behaviour, and he had saved Remus' live. On the other hand, he was still an Auror, an enforcer of the laws that marked Remus as an outcast and that had hurt him more than any Cruciatus curse ever could. And he was still prejudiced against his kin, even though he had saved his life and even though he had seemed friendly enough when talking to the Berserkers.

If Remus still didn't know what to make of Sirius (friend or foe?) he still owed him his thanks. He cleared his throat.

"Well, thank you, you know, for saving me." And he dived into his tent, not wanting to discuss the matter any further. No, he was not hiding.

 **xxXxx**

James woke up the next day with the worst of headaches. He felt like he had been trampled by an Erumpent and was bruised all over. He had the biggest of bruises on his side but luckily his ribs were not broken. The potions and the Muggle medicine Sirius told him he had taken had helped. He himself didn't recall anything from the previous day; it was a black hole from the moment they had stepped into the clearing up to waking up late that morning.

Moony had helped him up and around the fire, asked him how he felt, asked him several questions to see if there was any long-term memory loss and looked at the bump on his head. Sirius fussed but was on the whole rather unhelpful. Merlin, he wished he could use his wand to patch himself up!

A few effective pain-killers later – muggles used pills and not potions! - he felt as good as he ever would in those circumstances. Breakfast was quiet and there was a different kind of tension, that even James, who felt rather out, noticed. It was not so much animosity as discomfort, different from the days they were travelling up the mountains; it seemed Moony didn't know what to say rather than giving them the cold shoulder treatment. Something must have happened last night…

When he asked, Sirius filled him in on the events, as well as Greyback's current position at the bottom of a small cliff, unable to move.

The plan was to go down with some ropes, because e using a levitating charm was out of the question, fish him up and bring him in.

"And how are we supposed we take him back if he can't walk?" James asked. He had always thought they would arrest Greyback, rope him up and drag him back down the mountain with them, but now it seemed impossible.

"I have a portkey we can use" Moony admitted.

"What? Do you mean we walked all the way when we could have used a portkey to get here?" Sirius exclaimed.

"No, I already told you, the wards keep anyone from apparating in or out or using a portkey to come here, but I got this one set up before we left," Moony explained patiently.

And wasn't that a weird sight, Moony and Sirius talking civilly with each other, without snapping or insults.

"I guess this portkey has not been Ministry issued…" James asked.

"If you'd rather walk," he said.

"No," Sirius intervened, "We've got no problem with an illegal portkey, we don't mind a little rule-breaking."

And to James' surprise, Moony actually smiled, it was discreet and fleeting, but James saw it nonetheless.

Eventually, things were decided; Moony showed Sirius how to abseil down safely, seeing as he was the only one uninjured, once down, Sirius tied Greyback and Moony and James pulled the heavy werewolf up before sending the rope down again for Sirius.

Sirius was also the one who bound the werewolf legs, which was odd since Moony was the more experienced healer.

James tried his best to break up camp, but he was prone to bouts of dizziness, even throwing up once or two. He would definitely need to see a healer once they were out of there. A real one, with a magic wand!

In the end, it didn't take long to tidy up, in ten minutes everything was put away in their backpacks and all traces that they had ever been there being erased. Sirius handcuffed Greyback to his left hand and James did the same to his right. Once the werewolf secured between them, Moony activated the portkey, murmuring the password. There was a hue of blue light, James felt the familiar pull at his navel and they were gone.

Only the forest remained.

 **R &R**


End file.
